As a school-based SLP working primarily with preschoolers, I have developed a passion for play-based and themed therapy!
Using themes during play helps me stay organized and simplifies planning. If you are an SLP currently using themes, you probably know this! But what you might not know is...
...themed therapy is research based!
Introducing speech and language skills in a contextual activity leads to more generalization and functionality for the skills you are working on! (Hadley et al., 2018). Plus, using themes increases participation & engagement - so be sure to save the most exciting themes for a lull in the school year! 😉 Here are some ways I incorporate a variety of materials into my themed sessions:
Themed Therapy: TOYS
Play-based therapy makes it really easy to work on a variety of skills at once. This is often the struggle of being a school-based SLP -- planning for those mixed groups is HARD!
1. One of my favorite grab-and-go toys is this Doorbell House from Melissa & Doug. I use this toy with my around the house theme or my pets theme. Easily add pictures or other toys to build-in thematic vocabulary or therapy targets!
2. Mini Object Toys are my GO-TO for play-based therapy. The opportunities for speech-language practice is endless! I pull out the Sorting Snacks Mini Fridge during my fruit, food, or house themes. This Counting Surprise Presents come out frequently for birthday, Valentine's Day, or Christmas/holiday themes!
Themed Therapy: BOOKS
Pairing a themed book with a toy helps students build & connect their knowledge of themed vocabulary.
Use themed books to talk more deeply about themed vocabulary - focus on semantic features, function, & categories and making connections to personal experiences!
"Comprehension requires not only that children have broad vocabularies (i.e., a large number of words in their lexicon) but also that those words activate rich, interconnected networks of conceptual knowledge." (Hadley et al., 2018).
Themed Therapy: GAMES
Incorporating themed games into your sessions not only gives your students something to look forward to, it also allows for a more social, unstructured use of themed vocabulary or speech sounds!
Pop-up games are SUPER easy to incorporate into many themes! I use Pop the Pig with my food, around the house, or farm themes. My Beware of the Bear game gets pulled out with my forest animals, winter, or food themes.
And Gobble Monster comes out any time I have mini objects to use! He can gobble up food, pets, ocean animals, or anything else you want to target!
✨ FREE Speech Therapy CHEAT SHEETS ✨
Did you know... many of our play-based products come with a therapy cheat sheet for SLPs! We create individualized cheat sheets for each product with target core words, verbs, and descriptors to embed into play. Also included are articulation targets for all speech sounds to help you narrow down some targets for your articulation clients! Plus, at the bottom of the cheat sheet, you will get some of our favorite language targets to work on with the product to help guide your planning!
Reference: Hadley, E. B., Dickinson, D. K., Hirsch-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2018). Building semantic networks: The impact of a vocabulary intervention on preschoolers’ depth of word knowledge. Reading Research Quarterly.